Soeharto's questioning scheduled to resume

JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office announced on Wednesday it would not await approval from a joint medical team before resuming the questioning of former president Soeharto on Friday.

Director of Corruption Affairs Chaerul Imam said there was no need for state prosecutors to wait for approval from the joint medical team to question Soeharto about alleged corruption during his 32-year rule.

"The questioning is likely to resume on Friday, and we don't have any obligation to send a summons to the suspect and await the doctors' approval. We can just phone his (Soeharto's) lawyers at anytime," Chaerul said.

As on Monday, Soeharto will be questioned at his residence on Jl. Cendana in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

The joint medical team of state-appointed doctors from Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital and Soeharto's personal physicians cut short the examination of the 78-year-old former ruler on Monday after 90 minutes. The team ended the examination due to Soeharto's rising blood pressure and irregular heartbeat.

Chairul insisted Soeharto was fit to resume being questioned and that eight prosecutors would examine the former Army general, posing questions Soeharto would have no difficulty understanding.

The prosecutors are Antasari Azhar, Ferry Silalahi, Suryansyah, Patuan Siahaan, M. Yamin, Ibnu Haryadi, Purwanto and Tarwo Hadi Sadjuri, all from the special crimes directorate of the Attorney General's Office.

Chairul said Soeharto's health worsened on Monday following a question on irregularities in the implementation of the peat land conversion project he initiated in 1996.

The project cost the government Rp 2 trillion and the administration of Soeharto's successor, B.J. Habibie, halted it in 1998.

A leading non-governmental organization, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, filed a lawsuit against Habibie's administration last year for allegedly marking up the value of the megaproject and for the environmental damage and social costs which resulted from the project.

The other questions on Monday concerned Soeharto's role in the national car project, which was awarded to his youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, and the reported misuse of reforestation funds.

Chairul said after completing the questioning of Soeharto, the Attorney General's Office would begin questioning witnesses, including Soeharto's children and former minister of finance Fuad Bawazier.

Meanwhile, pressure continues to mount for the government to bring Soeharto immediately to justice. Some 200 activists from the Students Front for Reform and Democracy rallied near the former president's home on Wednesday. It was the third demonstration within a week demanding Soeharto be tried.

Carrying banners denouncing the former ruler, the students protested the sluggish pace of the government's investigation into Soeharto's alleged corruption.

Riot police set up a cordon to prevent the students from reaching Soeharto's home. The protest was peaceful, although the students and police launched several verbal assaults on one another.

A number of students were injured during a clash with security personnel in a demonstration near Soeharto's residence on Saturday.

There was not repeat of the violence on Wednesday and the students peacefully dispersed after dusk. (01)